UPDATED 02:53 EDT / SEPTEMBER 10 2015

NEWS

New iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro 3 vs. MacBook

Following months of rumor and speculation, Apple finally unveiled its 12.9-inch iPad Pro yesterday. It’s no secret that the iPad Pro is aimed directly at enterprise and other business users, as is made obvious by the multitasking and productivity features built into iOS 9 and the optional Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard.

The iPad Pro not only competes with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 3 hybrid tablet but also with Apple’s own MacBook.

Below we compare the technical specifications of these three devices.

  iPad Pro Surface Pro 3 MacBook
Operating system iOS 9 Windows 8.1 Pro (free upgrade to Windows 10) OS X
Display 12.9-inch Retina 12-inch Full HD 12-inch Retina
Resolution 2732 x 2048 1920 x 1080 2304 x 1440
Processor A9X (1.8x faster than A8X) Intel Core i3 (1.5GHz), Core i5 (1.9GHz), Core i7 (1.7GHz) Intel Core M (1.1GHz, 1.2GHz dual-core)
RAM Not Provided 4GB, 8GB 8GB
Storage 32GB, 128GB 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 256GB, 512GB
Front Camera 1.2-megapixel 5.0-megapixel N/A
Rear Camera 8-megapixel 5.0-megapixel 480p
Battery 10 hours (Apple estimate) 42Wh (9 hours web browsing – Microsoft estimate) 5263mAh (9 hours – Apple estimate)
Dimensions (Inches) 8.68 x 12 x 0.27 7.93 x 11.5 x 0.36 7.74 x 11.04 x 0.52
Weight (Pounds) 1.57 1.76 2.03
Base price $799 $799 $1299
Stylus/Keyboard Optional keyboard ($169) and Apple Pencil ($99) Surface Pen and optional removable keyboard ($129) Built-in keyboard
Other 4 speaker audio system, Fingerprint sensor

 

Design and aesthetics aside, when it comes to using these devices for work, many may prefer to have a full blown operating system – Windows or OS X – that is capable of running full blown versions of enterprise applications. iOS 9, being mobile first, naturally runs scaled down versions of these applications, which may have limitations.

To further muddy the waters, Microsoft is likely to release the Surface Pro 4 at an event in October. The Surface Pro 4 is said to be thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro 3, come in 12 and 14-inch 2k and 4k resolution models; feature Intel’s new Skylake CPUs; 256GB SSDs from Samsung; sport an 8-megapixel primary rear camera, 3.5 megapixel front camera, and be made of magnesium-aluminum alloy. Reports suggest that the higher end version will go for about $1,300 and the lower end at around $500. The more expensive version will have 16GB of RAM while the cheaper tablet 4GB. Storage will vary, from 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, to 500GB.

Those are impressive specs no matter how you look at it and, with similar pricing to the iPad Pro – and given a preference for Windows as an OS – it is likely to be a no-brainer for enterprise users not loyal to the Apple brand.

To top it off, expect to see a price drop on the Surface Pro 3 following the launch of the Surface Pro 4.

We’ll have to see just how popular Apple’s new iPad Pro proves to be in Apple’s first earnings report following the device going on sale in November.

Watch the iPad Pro promo video below:

Image via Apple.com

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